Fred Flintstone: Before and After
"Fred Flintstone: Before and After" is the twenty-eighth episode of the first season of ''The Flintstones''. It aired on April 7, 1961. Synposis To win $1,000, Fred must lose 25 pounds, which is easier said than done. Plot Fred euphorically announces that he will be on television, and Wilma, the Rubbles, and all of his other friends gather at the Flintstone home to watch "The Happy Hour" on which Fred will appear, in one of the advertisements for Fat-Off Reducing Method. Fred was led to believe by B.J., president of Bedrock Television Studios, that he will represent the figure of a man who completed the weight-decreasing procedure, when, in fact, he is the flabby, corpulent image of a man needing purging of body fat. Rather than being the man standing proudly under the "after" label, Fred is the undesirable tub-of-lard positioned beneath "before". All of Fred's friends are ashamed for him and hastily exit from Fred's disgraced presence, and Wilma furiously accompanies Fred to Bedrock's television studio and confronts B.J. about his shameless exploitation of Fred's waist size. B.J. responds with a challenge to Fred. If Fred can lose 25 pounds in one month through the weight-reduction method, Fred will be awarded 1,000 dollars on live television. Although the monetary prospect is sufficient persuasion for Fred to agree to the challenge, he quickly realizes that his new diet is lacking in all of the pleasurable foods to which he is accustomed. A stick of celery is insufficient to satisfy Fred's tremendous appetite while he lunches at work, and a co-worker's submarine sandwich is "accidentally" catapulted into Fred's eager mouth. Wilma attaches an explosive to the Flintstone "icebox" to deter Fred from a nighttime raid thereof, and Fred's attempt to besiege the Rubbles' "icebox" is thwarted by identical means. To curtail his yearning for food, Fred joins a club called Food Anonymous, in which members restrict each other from eating by confiscating food and then uttering a "Goink, goink, goink," with a thumbs-in-ears salute, and Bedrock's restaurateurs are under strict orders by Wilma not to serve calorie-rich food to Fred. When Fred completely loses control of his urge to feast, between Wilma's minions and the members of Food Anonymous, he cannot close his teeth on any of his desired victuals, not even on Dino's bone, and almost mentally collapses with frustration. Come the end of his Fat-Off ordeal, Fred has succeeded in eliminating 25 pounds from his body and receives the $1,000, but when he tries to celebrate his triumph with a large repast, the Food Anonymous people will not accept his resignation from their club and continue snatching his food from him. Characters * Phone operator (only appearance) * Mr. Slabslides (only appearance) * Assistant (only appearance) * B.J. (only appearance) * Fred Flintstone * Wilma Flintstone * Betty Rubble * Barney Rubble * Dino * Announcer (only appearance; TV) * Ad announcer (only time heard) * Charlie * Head of Food Anonymous (only appearance) * Frank (only appearance) * Al (only appearance) Locations * Bedrock ** Bedrock Television Studios ** Flintstone home ** Quarry ** Food Anonymous (only appearance) ** Al's Brontosaurus Burgers (only appearance) Objects * TV * Brontosaurus burger Vehicles * Fred's car * Barney's car Cast Notes/Trivia *Wilma mentions detective Perry Masonite (Perry Mason), Rick Masterson (Bat Masterson) and Maverock (Maverick). *The boss' initials are B.J. 'Errors' * Either Barney's driving an identical car to Fred again, or he's driving Fred's for him. Category:Episodes Category:The Flintstones episodes